Does my Prius have an EGR system?

I'll give you a quick idea whilst our American friends are sleeping, but I do believe the European and US versions are slightly different. Their emissions regulations are still much stricter than Europe (even to Euro 5 which the Prius easily meets) and I believe they have the EGR and we don't.

An easy way to tell if you have a Euro version is does it have an inbuilt rear fog (the US doesn't)? Also the US version has an amber reflector on the sides of the headlights and a red one on the side of the rear lights?

The above might help for now and I'm sure someone more knowledgeable than me will respond once they've woken.

 

Cabbie,

Just out of curiosity, what do you mean by the 'inbuilt rear fog'? I have a U.S. 2010 Prius V, and have the rear fog button on my dashboard. (As do all U.S. Versions, to my knowledge, with the possible exception of the Prius I, which may be stripped of even that ?)

Or are you referring to something other than the black electrical wires running across my rear window in parallel lines an in ch or so part?

 

"Real" fog lamps include front ones that can come on without the headlamps on, AND a bright rear red light that can be turned on to ensure (or try to) that someone doesn't come along in "fog" (inside or outside their head) and hit your car.
American and Canadian cars have neither.

Have never seen the egr system on Pearl. Most of that stuff is hidden behind the engine.

 

Exhaust Heat Recovery is not the same thing as EGR. EGR is Exhaust Gas Recirculation, in which exhaust gas is introduced into the cylinders to reduce combustion temperatures as a means to control NOx.

Exhaust Heat Recovery uses exhaust gas to warm the engine. It is done through a heat exchanger, and is in no way connected to the combustion cycle.

Tom

 

I believe all 2010 Prius have this, but then I'm not an expert when it comes to international versions. We looked at a cutaway version of the 2010 when we were in Detroit for the Gen III product launch. On the cutaway, it was pretty easy to see the heat exchanger right behind the catalytic converter. I would guess that you could see it if you looked under the car. Someplace on PC there are some photos posted if you want a good idea of what to look for.

Tom

 

Oops sorry didn't realise my sloppy writing would cause this confusion. I meant inbuilt rear fog light, not the rear defogging strips on the back window.

European cars (inc some sold in the US?) have a super bright red switchable rear fog light for foggy or very misty conditions. Right- and left-hand traffic - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Not in North America Grumpycabbie. Illegal as it's too bright.

 

It looks like this:


Someone published images of the bottom of a USA Prius. It should be obvious from those photos.

Bob Wilson

 

It looks expensive whatever it is!

 

It is a modified exhaust 'converter' system that has a valve and coils from the engine coolant. When the car is cold, the valve closes and forces the hot exhaust around the coolant coils sending hot coolant to the engine block. This brings the engine up to operational temperatures very quickly:

• ~40 C - the car can begin some hybrid operations such as auto-off at a stop
• ~70 C - the warm-up cycle can complete (Ken@Japan has posted more details than my rough description)

It also means that at low speed in sub-freezing weather, not only does the engine block remain at hybrid temperatures but the cabin heat remains abundantly warm. It is not a common problem in Alabama but I understand some of our Canadian friends appreciated it this last winter.

BTW, my NHW11, 2001-03 Prius, has a hydrocarbon converter that uses a similar trick. It has a valve that forces the initial engine gas flow around some 'magic stuff' that holds the start-up hydrocarbons. Later, when the catalytic converters are working and the exhaust is hot, the hydrocarbons are neutralized. It is a nice system until one of the linkages corrodes due to winter salt and it freezes either open or closed. Then it is expensive.

Bob Wilson

 

Not illegal, Volvo has them in the US. Americans just don't understand their use. So Toyota saves a buck or two.

 

I think you had the question right the first time, although I do not know the answer. Exhaust Heat Recovery will help the engine warm up faster and heat the cabin more efficiently. Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) cools the engine, makes it more efficient (less waste heat especially on leaner burns), and reduces pollution especially NOx. I'm surprised that toyota does not include EGR on all their prii as this will also change the efficient range of the engine.

 

The EGR is needed to avoid overheating the catalytic converter at high power ranges. So I agree that EGR needs to be universal. Otherwise the engine would have to 'enrich' the mixture at high power and that would impact mileage.

As for the Exhaust Heat Recovery (EHR?), the workaround would be to install a block heater. This may be a little tricky depending upon electrical voltage and type. Still, a 30-90 minute, warm-up with a block heater can provide a substantial improvement in vehicle warm-up.

Do you have an OBD scan device that can read out the engine coolant temperature? The reason I ask is I could record the coolant temperature warm-up with my wife's car in "Park" so we could see the warm-up profile. Then we could compare your rate of ICE warm-up to ours . . . another way to skin the cat.

Bob Wilson

 

I have 2008 Prius. The scanner (Autol AL319) reports that EGR monitor is not available (or not supported) for this car, Does it means that this car has no EGR system installed?

 

It could mean your scanner doesn't support Prius